Moroccan Carrot Apple Soup

For a fleeting moment this afternoon, the term, Nihil Obstat, ran through my head — an old-school Catholic declaration at the beginning of books and the like of “no obstacles.” While I have long since given up on trying to understand what enters my stream of consciousness, it occurred to me later in the day that we might need a similar designation for recipes and restaurant dishes.

Instead of an assurance of nothing damaging to faith or morals, this new designation would indicate that a dish was vegetarian, made from locally sourced ingredients, paleo, organic, gluten free, sugar free, cholesterol free, soy free, dairy free, low fat, low calorie, and very low in sodium.

These were not my guidelines for creating a carrot soup with a Moroccan twist — fact is, I had an abundance of carrots on hand, a hankering to stir up some Moroccan flavor.

But if there was such a category this would be a contender. And despite the list of everything that this soup doesn’t have, it’s outrageously tasty with a rich and, I might even go as far as to say, complex, combination of flavors.

Ingredients

2 T Olive Oil

8 large carrots peeled and rough chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium apple, (preferably Granny Smith) peeled, cored and chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. coriander

3 cups water

1/2 cup unsweetened, unflavored almond milk

2 T plain Greek yogurt (optional!)

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add carrots and onions. Saute on medium high for 5-7 minutes until the carrots begin to soften. Combine chopped apples and spices. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender in 2-3 batches and puree along with remaining water and almond milk.

Pour pureed soup into a large sauce pan and reheat for 5-10 minutes. Top with a dab of Greek yogurt.